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Wednesday, 30 September 2015

How To Craft Powerful Emails That Get You Noticed

Unless you are a celebrity,
(Oprah Winfrey), a business mogul, (Richard Branson) or a
universally recognised figure, (Barack Obama), six out of ten times, (and this
is a conservative figure), your unsolicited email will be deleted.

Worse yet, even when you do
have legitimate reasons for sending emails - such as seeking clarification for
a project; asking for feedback from your boss; or following up on a lead - your
emails are either not acknowledged in a timely manner or are ignored
altogether.

When you do get a response,
it is frustratingly vague or fails to address the issue at hand. This forces
you to send additional emails, thus beginning the vicious cycle of 'email
hide-and-seek'.

But before you write off that recipient as the devil's
incarnate, understand that people at work are busy. And
I mean really busy. They juggle stressful situations, deadlines,
countless meetings, addictions to devices and short breaks...often not effectively.
This means that emails deemed unimportant or irrelevant, are shelved to be
answered when the recipient has a spare moment...which of course never happens.
So even with the best of intentions, that email that you vaguely labelled "Next phase" will not be
opened.

Why emails really matter

Before you conclude that emails
are so passé, the points below should convince you to take them very seriously:

3) You will be perceived as
an unreliable professional, a slacker, if you habitually don't respond
to emails. In fact,responsiveness in this digital age is linked to perceptions of trustworthiness, which of course is crucial to your career progression. Look at it from
Management's viewpoint: How would you expect to be promoted to a position of
high responsibility when you can't be counted upon to acknowledge issues and
address them in a timely manner?

Therefore, learning how to
write a winning email and responding appropriately will get you noticed and
will set you apart from the pack.

Writing that elusive, compelling
email

So here's the dilemma:
Presenting your thoughts in such a way that a response is almost always
guaranteed.

I say almost because
despite your best efforts, some people who are just not 'email people' will not
respond. In such cases, you will need to find the preferred method for
communicating with such people: via telephone calls, in face-to-face meetings,
through video-based communication tools, by using social media, etc.

Drawing upon my experience
writing numerous unsolicited emails, (in situations where I had no prior contacts), and
other emails to persuade or trigger actions from businesses, CEOs, etc. this is
what I learnt about emails that yields results:

Highlight the
value/benefit you will bring to the recipient.

Whatever is contained in
your email should make his role easier, (making him look good); his business
more competitive/profitable; or his company's brand more recognised. Only when
you can address the allure of value, even from the subject line, does
your email get a chance of being opened.

Below are tips that will
help you with the process.

1) Writing a catchy subject
line

This is actually the most
important part of the email but is often not given much thought.

You could grab the attention
of the recipient by writing a short, declarative phrase, which gets straight to
the point.

For unsolicited emails,
examples could be:

A) Most Admired Company X in
Y Location Seeking Partnership In Z Venture.

B) Boosting Recipient
Company's Profits Using X Initiative.

C) Increasing Recipient
Company's Sales With Proven X Method.

D) Addressing X Problem To
Preempt Y Crisis.

For other emails which are
expected, the rule of thumb is to jog the memory of the recipient to enable him
respond quickly. Some examples could be:

I) Approval Required For
Project A Before B Deadline.

II) Follow-up On C Issue For
D Purpose.

III) Recommendations For
Quick Resolution Of E Issue.

Remember that the aim is to
get the recipient interested enough to click on the emails because of its relevance.
The straightforward subject line allows him to 'tune in' on the issue; it also
eliminates ambiguity if he is handling similar matters.

2) Effectively constructing
the body of the email

The body of the email should
comprise the following elements:

A) The salutation/greeting

It is important to ensure
the correct spelling of the recipient's name and title.

“Dear Mr./Mrs./Dr. X; Head of Sales/CEO,Y Company”.

Never address anyone thus:"To
Whom It May Concern". It gives the impression that you couldn't be
bothered to do basic research and may ruffle some feathers. Don't take that
risk.

B) The heading

This should repeat the
wording of the email subject, with a few extra words for clarity, if necessary.

C) The opening line

Get straight to the point:

"Last year, your company recorded sales in excess of X million USD.
We can increase your sales' volume by X% this year. By merging our company's
software Y with your existing tool..." (For unsolicited
emails for which you are adding value).

"Further to our discussion on Xdate about the proposed budget for
Project Y..." (For a requested email to jog memory).

D) The call-to-action

This is the action you want
your recipient to take and essentially the purpose for sending the email. It
could be a date for a meeting you'd like scheduled; some urgent documentation
you need sent; an idea/innovation you want considered; a complaint you demand
handled; etc.

Simply state your request,
using polite terms:

"I would
appreciate it if you could kindly schedule a meeting to discuss the X solutions
we offer that will reduce your operational costs by Y%".

"In order to
ensure the smooth delivery of Project X, please suggest which of the
above-mentioned options will be most effective"."To prevent the
issue of X from escalating into a full-blown crisis, I would appreciate your
speedy response".

E) The closing remarks

End with flourish, always
adhering to standard business language:"Whilst awaiting
your response on this sensitive matter, we wish to thank you for your kind
consideration"."Thank you for your
time. I look forward to receiving feedback at your convenience".Remember the parting words:

In general, your email
should be short and no longer than four or five paragraphs, including the
closing remarks.When
addressing a complex issue, you may need to write longer emails. Nevertheless, your writing
should be crisper, so aim for shorter sentences of 10-15 words. Use bullet points when communicating multiple
ideas and strip away flowery language. Strong verbs such as 'provided',
'analysed', 'sold', 'built', 'supervised', 'led', etc. are effective for
highlighting important information.You should also prioritise
the active voice: "We decided to discontinue the process"
versus "A decision was made to discontinue the process".Above all: 1) Proof-read thoroughly: "I cited
Shakespeare in my literature class", versus "I sighted
Shakespeare in my literature class".Use the second option and
get a free pass to a psychiatric ward.2) Edit ruthlessly:"Let's eat,
grandma", versus "Let's eat grandma".You get the idea...

ConclusionSo now I concede that you
don't have to be a celebrity or a popular figure to write powerful emails that
will resonate with your recipient.

It may seem that all the
points mentioned in this post will make writing that winning email cumbersome,
but the opposite is true: Your email will be clear, succinct and will prompt
action.

Trust me on this.

So take the plunge. Use the
tips provided and go craft that email!

What other tips have you
used to write effective emails? Let me know by posting your comments below.

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